


Behind the Silver Screen

by aeternum_vale



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Because I Have A Problem, Class 77, Coma, F/M, Hospitals, It was never a game, Most of class 78 is really dead, Other implied pairings probably, Other pairings will be shoe-horned in, Probably self-harm implications, Self-indulgent cathartic writing, Team DanganRonpa was a lie, This is mainly MomoHaru-centric, bad coping, rating for themes and language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 20:51:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18645883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeternum_vale/pseuds/aeternum_vale
Summary: Maki Harukawa awakens from a long nightmare. DanganRonpa 53 had been a lie...But how much of it? The trauma received by the participants in Future Foundation's experiment is harsh, but waiting on Kaito to awaken might be worse. When he does, what will become of their relationship- er...friendship?This May or May not slowly expand to include the lives of other characters.





	1. Ending a Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> It's been quite a while since I finished DRV3 but I still have trauma, haha. I just want all these kids to be happy. Note at the end includes a very, very minor soapbox moment as well as the explanation of the title.

And just like that…it was over. The world falls silent around her and the images of rubble and blood fade, blending with images of the friends she had made. But what was the truth? And what was a lie? She sat up with a gasp, pulling at the machines hooked to her arms and head. Saihara sat beside her. 

“Maki. Don’t,” he grabbed for her hand and she slapped it away. 

“Where are we? What happened? We were only supposed to test the equipment and the simulation...it failed?” She asked. 

“That’s…uhm…yes. I’m really sorry about that. It seems “class 53” is experiencing some of the same problems that we’ve faced in the past,” a young man in a black suit entered, wringing his hands. He had brown hair and a nametag which read ‘Naegi’ – not that she needed it. She remembered this man all too well. A woman with lavender hair stood behind him, arms crossed. 

“How much of it was true? I don’t…even remember anymore…” Maki whispered, her red eyes filling with tears.   
“Team DanganRonpa is a lie. You’re at Future Foundation’s Headquarters. We’re still trying to rid the world of the despair Junko Enoshima left behind and your group of participants, volunteered to make sure that something like what happened to class 77 could not happen again,” the woman, whose nametag read ‘Kirigiri’, explained slowly. 

“Then none of us…” Maki said, hopefully. 

“They’re still comatose,” Shuichi explained in a small voice from beside her. Her shoulders sagged and her heart sank. 

“Can I see them? I…don’t remember much from before we went in…I don’t even remember who I was before,” She muttered, picking at the tape which held the IV in place. 

“I’m sorry,” Naegi apologized again. “We ran a number of tests with Fujisaki’s AI but there were no problems until actual people were involved. Junko’s threat still exists in the virtual world. Though, we’re hopeful that your group destroyed it.” 

She nodded and the two suited figures left. She looked at Shuichi, taking in just how scrawny this man was in person. He looked sickly, especially with dark rings around his eyes. “Saihara,” she began but she was cut off. 

A bumbling nurse with an obnoxious voice interrupted her. “G-good Morning, Miss H-harukawa! Oh, well, I guess it’s e-evening,” she said nervously. She wasn’t very bright, Maki thought immediately. Ultimate Nurse? What a scary thought. Nonetheless, she endured while she was poked and prodded, having her vitals checked, and properly getting her IV and heart monitors removed. “I’ve brought you a change of clothes. We’ll be waiting in the hall.” The nurse tapped Shuichi’s shoulders and he stood, bowed, and left with her. 

Maki looked around her, taking in the white room as she pulled the red sweater dress over her head and pulled on tights. So…Team DanganRonpa was a lie…the TV program too. This wasn’t a game, not at all. The world really had been destroyed by the Ultimate Despairs. She felt hesitant to trust them, that nurse included. But for the time being, she had no choice. 

She opened the curtain and stood before them, pulling her hair into a high ponytail. “Show me where they are,” she said in a quiet but demanding voice. 

On the way to the simulation room, Mikan Tsumiki explained that technically, Maki had woken up prior but it hadn’t been long enough to remember anything, only long enough to switch her from a pod to a regular hospital bed. Maki had been asleep for 3 hours since waking up, Himiko had been taken to a mental health facility to be monitored. 

Shaking, Maki stepped into the room where the pods were. Only 3 were opened, the rest were closed, keeping the individuals inside alive with a variety of technology that was beyond her understanding. She moved first to the one at her side. “Status: ALIVE – Participant Number: 53-1 – Name: AKAMATSU” read the screens neon green letters. 

“Kaede,” she whispered, touching the glass. She looked peaceful, merely sleeping. “Why didn’t they wake up after death?” She asked, moving down the line. Rantaro, Ryoma, Kirumi, Tenko, Angie – everyone was here. She was, shocked to find that Kiiko was a real man but she would save her shock for later. 

“W-we had intended for there to be no d-deaths. But also for you all to wake up at the same time… The shock makes it hard for them to wake up,” Tsumiki explained. She rubbed at her bandaged arms. Right…Class 77 was the same. They were all around the same age, early twenties, and yet she felt as though she knew so little. Yet, she had signed up for this stupid experiment anyway. But if she hadn’t…

She stopped at the last pod and looked at the screen. “Status: ALIVE – Participant Number: 53-15 – Name: MOMOTA” 

She sank to the floor, sobbing, hand on the glass as she stared at his stupid face through heavy tears. 

“Sorry…for makin’ you cry like that…” She heard in her head and only sobbed harder. “Stupid. Idiot. Asshole,” she said to the glass. The other two had busied themselves – Saihara was staring at Kaede’s pod and Mikan was checking what she had referred to as the high-risk participants – those who had faced more damage in the simulation such as Kiibo, who had blown up, and Miu, who had been strangled. 

After what seemed like forever, Maki climbed to her feet. “I…I think I’m ready to go wherever…I just want two things – to come here everyday to see him. And to know what is true and what is false.” 

Mikan nodded and escorted them out.


	2. Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki goes shopping with a couple of the others and finds herself longing for Kaito's strength to guide her in the outside world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping there aren't too many mistakes. Please, enjoy

Maki sat on her bed – if you could call it “hers”. Much like in the simulation, they had identical bedrooms in a dorm at the facility, but it wasn’t so bad. While the room itself didn’t feel personally hers, she wasn’t sure what would. She couldn’t complain too much; she was provided with food, shelter, training grounds, and entertainment. The Future Foundation had given her a passcode that allowed her to enter the pod room as she pleased, which was often, to check on Kaito. Of course, she knew that there was a very real possibility that he wouldn’t remember anything when he woke up. It was possible that, like his illness, his bravado and feelings for her were all a lie. She didn’t care, so long as he woke up. That’s all that mattered to her. 

Much of it was a lie – but some of it wasn’t. Her past wasn’t fabricated at all and she had joined the experiment to raise money for her “siblings” at the orphanage. She was at least grateful that, upon waking up, she was able to send a good chunk of money back home. 

A week had passed already and a few of her alleged classmates had woken up, but not Kaito. She picked at the hem of her sleeve and scowled at the book in her lap. She knew it was stupid to cling onto but reading about the planets and constellations that Kaito had so eagerly talked about made her feel a bit at peace. There were times, when everyone was asleep, that she would go and read to him about the things he had enjoyed inside the simulation. 

She heard footsteps in the hall coming closer and was off of the desk chair before the knocking could start. She opened the door to see Kaede, holding her hand up in the gesture of knocking. Kaede jumped back a bit as the door opened before she could do anything. 

“Harukawa!” She said with a smile. “How did you know I was here?” 

“Years of training,” Maki replied, deadpan, “Do you need something?” 

“I…uhm…” She shifted a bit. Kaede always seemed nervous around Maki. Perhaps it was because of Maki’s intimidating glare or the fact everyone who had woken up was afraid she would resent them. And to some extent, deep down, maybe she did. 

“What is it?” Make asked, sighing and running a hand through one pigtail. She relaxed her posture just a little, seeming less threatening in an instant. 

“Amami, Shuichi, and I are about to go shopping. Do you want to come with us?” She asked. 

A chance to leave the facility…That sounded nice. She nodded, “Yes…Thank you.” She moved back to the desk and grabbed her wallet, jamming it in her back pocket. They stopped in the central lounge to gather Amami and Shuichi before heading out. 

She wouldn’t admit it, but she was nervous. She wasn’t even sure how long they had actually been inside the simulation, but it had felt like years. With each car horn, shout, or cyclist whizzing past, she felt more and more on edge. She felt more anxious than she had in a very long time. The noise was all too much and entering the shopping district, packed with a variety of perfumes and food smells made her head spin. She looked around a bit, not noticing that her pupils had gone wide and her breath had begun to quicken, causing her chest to rise and fall quickly. 

Shuichi was the first to notice, he was clearly on edge as well. Maki watched as he tapped Kaede on the shoulder and pointed his thumb towards Maki. She could barely make out what was being said, everyone sounded as though she was underwater. She watched everything play out as if it was a movie, far away on the big screen. Kaede nodded and walked into the shop with Rantaro as Shuichi approached her slowly, his lips moving.   
“…ki? Are y… okay?” As he came closer, the words became more clear. “Maki?” 

She shook her head, eyes welling up with tears and rushed into a side alley. She slid down the cool brick, taking comfort in the way this dark alley reminded her of being a child. She certainly felt like one – helpless and sobbing. 

Shuichi slid down beside her, sitting next to her but not daring to touch her as she hugged her knees. She appreciated that; she appreciated their mutual understanding of one another as “survivors” of deaths that had never really occurred. However, the scars were still there, as was the feeling of having been in isolation for some time. The world suddenly seemed much larger than it had ever been. 

“Are you okay now?” He asked softly. 

“Shouldn’t you be taking care of your girlfriend?” She said, a little too grumpily. She instantly looked regretful as hurt crossed his face. 

“Kaede understands. She didn’t see everything, obviously. But she knows that I’m the only one who can help right now,” he whispered. “Besides, it was a bit too much for me back there as well.” 

She nodded and leaned her head back against the wall, staring up at the darkened sky. “I…I just wish he was here. He could face anything…With him…” She trailed off. 

“The three of us could conquer anything, right?” He said with a soft, hollow laugh. “Maki, he’s not dead. He’s alive and healthy. He just isn’t awake. If he saw us like this, do you know what he’d say?” 

“This should be nothing for my sidekicks!” The two of them said together, before bursting into a fit of laughter which slowly dissolved into soft sobs into one another’s shoulder. After they had calmed down, the two of them joined the others. 

“Are you okay now?” Kaede asked, she touched Shuichi’s arm but stared at Maki. The two of them nodded in unison. Staying close to Kaede, shopping was somehow successful. Maki had even been convinced to buy a couple outfits the others had convinced her Kaito would love. 

After eating at a quiet restaurant, they headed back to the Future Foundation facility and went to their dorm rooms. Once there, Maki changed into one of her new outfits and headed down to where Kaito was. Following routine, she talked to him about her day, read a bit about the stars and said goodnight. Afterwards, she would always check on the others, looking for a sign of waking and leave. Each night, she reminded herself that she needed to be patient.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey DR fanbase, can we talk for a second? In this house we don't use "brain dead" to talk about comatose patients. My mom had a terminal lung illness (like Kaito) and I had seen her in comas but also the final coma resulted in brain death - which is legal death. It's a very traumatic experience to see a BD test done so can we please stop using it wrong? Thank you.  
> Anyway, title comes from lyrics in Avenged Sevenfold's "Simulation".


End file.
